Bobby Valentine’s rocky season in Boston

<b>By Gary Dzen/Boston.com Staff</b><br>Bobby Valentine's tenure as Red Sox manager came to an end Thursday when the Red Sox relieved him of his managerial duties. Valentine inherited a drama-filled team after the firing of Terry Francona and the beer-and-chicken controversy of last season, but Valentine came on board and quickly injected drama of his own. Valentine might have been the man for the job, but he certainly made things more interesting on Yawkey Way. We've compiled some of the most talked-about moments in Valentine's time as Red Sox manager.
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<b>Exit interview?</b><br>On the day of the Red Sox' final home game of the season, Valentine' expressed a belief he'd be back in 2013, but also joked about the stress of the season. "When I come back next year, I'll think I'm prepared to handle [the team's issues]. Hopefully we'll have better results," he said. Then he joked about his rule banning alcohol from the Red Sox' home clubhouse: "Not much I would have done differently, I don't think. Other than I think I would have kept the beer in the clubhouse. I think I could have used it after a few of these games this year." He also thanked Red Sox reporters.
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The Boston Globe

<b>Weakest roster comment</b><br>Valentine responded to a question about the lineup he sent out on Sept. 14 by saying "This is the weakest roster we've ever had in September in the history of baseball. He later clarified his remark to say he meant weakest in terms of quantity, not quality.
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Sports Illustrated

<b>Cover jinx?</b>
On the same day Sports Illustrated released an issue with a beleagured Valentine on the cover, the Red Sox manager got into it with WEEI radio host Glenn Ordway. Asked by Ordway if he had "checked out", Valentine replied, "What an embarrassing thing to say. If I were there right now, I'd punch you right in the mouth. Ha. How's that sound?"
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AP

<b>Aceves suspended:</b> The Red Sox suspended righthander Alfredo Aceves for three games for “conduct detrimental to the team” following a confrontation with Valentine. Aceves had a closed-door meeting in Valentine’s office after the Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals because the righthander was angry he was not used to close the 4-3 game. He took off his jersey as he left the bullpen to meet with Valentine after the game.
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<b>Sox complete blockbuster deal with Dodgers:</b> The Red Sox dealt Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto to the Dodgers in exchange for James Loney and four prospects. The move signaled that team executives were more focused on winning in 2013 than 2012. Valentine’s role in all this? The team was able to move some of his most vocal critics, which signaled to some an intent to appease Valentine going forward. Of course, the trade could also be the first part of a house-cleang that involves sending Valentine packing.
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AP

<b>Players go to management:</b> A Yahoo! Sports report cited sources who say Red Sox star players blasted Valentine to team ownership during a meeting in late July after Valentine left starter Jon Lester in a game in which he gave up 11 runs. Adrian Gonzalez reportedly texted John Henry and Larry Lucchino to voice complaints, and general manager Ben Cherington confirmed the meeting occurred. A text message of Dustin Pedroia making fun of Valentine was also circulated among the team, according to the report.
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Jim Davis/Globe Staff

<b>Henry speaks out: </b>As August came and the Red Sox still hovered near .500, talk began about whether or not Valentine was long for the job. Red Sox owner John Henry (pictured) gave Valentine a vote of confidence in an e-mail to beat reporters covering the team, writing ""To blame Bobby Valentine for the Red Sox being .500 at this point in the season is simply wrong. A lot has been written about injuries to key players this year. The impact of that on the Sox this year should not be discounted."
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One criticism of Valentine has been that he's too harsh with younger players. Valentine told WEEI ownership came to him after hearing of a comment he made to rookie third baseman Will Middlebrooks. In Valentine's words: "[Middlebrooks] came into the dugout, he made a couple of errors, and I said, 'Nice inning, kid.' I had thought I had established a relationship with him where I could say something like that and he would try to smile or relax a little. Maybe he grimaced, I don't know, but somebody overheard it and decided that it was a very dreadful thing for a manager to say to a young player, and decided to repeat it a few times, this dreadful thing.""/>

AP

<b> Hey Middlebrooks: "Nice inning:" </b>
One criticism of Valentine has been that he's too harsh with younger players. Valentine told WEEI ownership came to him after hearing of a comment he made to rookie third baseman Will Middlebrooks. In Valentine's words: "[Middlebrooks] came into the dugout, he made a couple of errors, and I said, 'Nice inning, kid.' I had thought I had established a relationship with him where I could say something like that and he would try to smile or relax a little. Maybe he grimaced, I don't know, but somebody overheard it and decided that it was a very dreadful thing for a manager to say to a young player, and decided to repeat it a few times, this dreadful thing."
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AP

<b>Francona in the clubhouse: </b> In one incident that was no fault of Valentine's, former Red Sox manager Terry Francona held court with Sox players in the Red Sox clubhouse at Yankee Stadium. The sight of the team's former manager sitting down and shooting the breeze with his old team didn't sit well with some, particularly given the new manager's inconsistent popularity with those same players. Francona later apologized to Valentine.
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AP

<b>Spats with coaches: </b> Reports all season suggested Valentine and some of his Red Sox coaches didn’t see eye-to-eye. Pitching coach Bob McClure, as well as bullpen coach Gary Tuck and bench coach Tim Bogar, were hired before Valentine. Valentine even brought in his own assistant pitching coach, Randy Niemann, who was with him in New York. McClure, who missed three weeks to deal with a family emergency, was fired on Aug. 20. This followed a cheap shot from Valentine on WEEI's Big Show on Aug. 1: "Bob McClure was on his two-week vacation—I'm sorry, not vacation, his two weeks away from the team."
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Carl Crawford's injury was a big a concern, but apparently it was also confusing. Valentine told reporters that the Red Sox medical staff told him to sit Crawford every four days, a plan Valentine dubbed the "four-day plan". Great, except that Sox general manager Ben Cherington said no such plan existed. “We want to make the off days count, make sense and come at the right time,” Cherington said. “I think we’d prefer not to put a specific number of days on it." Crawford was eventually shut down for the year and traded to the Dodgers."/>

AP

<b>Sits Crawford on "four-day plan:" </b>
Carl Crawford's injury was a big a concern, but apparently it was also confusing. Valentine told reporters that the Red Sox medical staff told him to sit Crawford every four days, a plan Valentine dubbed the "four-day plan". Great, except that Sox general manager Ben Cherington said no such plan existed. “We want to make the off days count, make sense and come at the right time,” Cherington said. “I think we’d prefer not to put a specific number of days on it." Crawford was eventually shut down for the year and traded to the Dodgers.
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AP

<b>Dominican baseball movie: </b> Controversy followed Valentine off the field as well. Valentine was executive producer for a film, "Ballplayer: Pelotero", that followed two prospects as they prepared for the signing season in the Domincan Republic. The movie won critical acclaim, but was not popular with Major League Baseball executives because it showed the sometimes unsavory side of baseball in developing countries.
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Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff

<b>In May: Manager of the Year? </b> Despite all the scuffling, there was actually some early talk that Valentine was doing a good enough job to merit consideration for manager of the year. By May 30 the Red Sox were 26-24 and had taken three straight games from the Tigers. The team looked to be turning a corner despite early-season injuries. The Sox have spun their wheels since, though the injury situation has worsened, and Valentine has gotten credit for getting the most out of his bullpen.
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AP

<b>His New York radio show:</b> This is a minor one, but Valentine's decision to do a regular appearance on Yankees play-by-play broadcaster Michael Kay's radio program in New York prompted some backlash among Red Sox fans. Valentine has ties in New York, and his decision came off as both a shot at Boston (remember how insular Boston sports fans can be) and appeared like he was setting up broadcasting plans for after his Red Sox managing days.
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Jim Davis/Globe Staff

<b>Criticism of Kevin Youkilis:</b> The most public of Valentine's player criticisms caused the most commotion. During an interview in April, Valentine was asked about Youkilis and said, "I don’t think he’s as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past for some reason.” The comment prompted Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia to come to the defense of Youkilis, saying, "That's not the way we go about our stuff around here. Maybe that works in Japan." Valentine apologized to Youkilis, but the third baseman was eventually shipped out of town for pennies on the dollar.
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John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

<b>The introductory press conference:</b> It become pretty clear Valentine was different than Francona when, without being asked, Valentine made reference to his status as a genius in his introductory press conference, saying “I’m not the genius that I’ve heard people refer to me as." Valentine personal history is both impressive and fantastical; the athletic, multi-lingual former Mets and Rangers manager told tales of inventing wrap sandwiches and building fences in the Texas heat, and eager sportswriters gobbled them up, adding to the "Legend of Bobby V". The stories were so frequent that an impersonation by 98.5 The Sports Hub radio host Fred Toucher became a hilarious running bit and Valentine became a parody of himself.
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<b>Reported rift with Mike Aviles:</b> Beckett and Crawford weren't the only Red Sox players to have their mettle questioned by Valentine. A CBS Sports report during spring training suggested Valentine was not excited to use Aviles as his everyday shortstop, preferring prospect Jose Iglesias. New York Daily News columnist Bill Madden wrote that Valentine's treatment of Aviles during an infield drill sparked a near-revolt by Red Sox players, according to a team source. Both Valentine and Aviles denied the incident ever happened.
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<b>ESPN jabs when he was an analyst:</b> Even before he stepped foot in the Red Sox clubhouse, Valentine was off on the wrong foot with his new team. In his previous job as an ESPN analyst, Valentine took jabs at what would become his own players. Last year, he criticized Carl Crawford’s batting stance, and in 2010, he criticized the then-Rays outfielder for needing to dive to make a catch. He then said he was faster than Crawford. Speaking of fast, last August he criticized the speed at which Josh Beckett pitched. “That’s a half-hour added to this game of him standing around and us sitting around watching him do nothing,” Valentine said.
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